Scottish Premiership: Celtic v Livingston

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers tells BBC Sportsound: "We probably didn't get the goals we deserved, but, from the off, you could see tempo and intensity was much better.

"December can be a grind with a lot of games. It could have been slow but our speed is so important.

"Against a team that was camped in we had to be bright and creative in our play to break them down."

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Quotes coming up from Brendan Rodgers.

We'll give the final word to the Celtic boss...

Do those quotes from Steven Naismith reassure you, Jambos?

Hit the thumbs up if you feel Lawrence Shankland will still be a Hearts player by the end of January.

If you're not so confident, the thumbs down is for you...

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Hearts manager Steven Naismith tells BBC Scotland: "We're happy. You look at that result, we score two goals and keep a clean sheet. All the aspects are good.

"But I always want to progress and be better and I think we could have made it more comfortable. And when the game opens up in the second half we could have gone forward quicker.

"But on the whole it was a really good performance and builds on what was a good performance last week."

On Lawrence Shankland and his goals, Naismith says: "The second one is more instinctive. When the ball comes in, he turns and it sits up the way it does and he instinctively hits it. He probably knows it's in before it gets to the the net.

"Shanks is a massive player for us and a great player. He's a guy who has progressed over the years and he's a leader. People might not see that bit but he is a leader.

"The individual and club is doing something right if we've got a player scoring as frequently as Shanks is. He's very valuable to us. He's loved at the club and he knows that.

"He understands what he's got there. When you're doing well there's speculation but the club have been quite firm and honest in their assessment. He's got a contract, we've got good value in him but he's a big part of our squad.

"In terms of a new contract it's something we'll talk about at the right time. But at the moment there's loads to focus on for him and us. We want to be a successful team in coming third and Shanks has got to work hard for us, but also with an eye on the Euros for the summer."

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St Johnstone boss Craig Levein tells BBC Scotland: "I don't know what happened in the first 20 minutes. I haven't seen that from this bunch of players since I arrived so it was most surprising.

"We seemed to decide to start playing after the second goal went in and I was pleased with what we did after that. I'm just mystified why we didn't turn up in the first 20 minutes.

"We had hope we could get back in it. We started to pass, have some dominance, play in their half. By half time, things had turned and it was about making sure we continued to play that way.

"There are some good things. Nicky [Clark] comes back in and scores. He'll be significant for us looking forward. He knows the league, he's a proven goal-scorer, he has a good football brain.

"I felt we deserved to get something out of the game. It would have been a fantastic fightback and more evidence we're on the right track. Killie are good at managing the game and seeing it out. We did a lot of good things today but didn't get the points."

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes tells BBC Scotland: "There's been loads of improvement - more goals scored, more clean sheets, less goals conceded. The biggest factor is we have far more points - 11 more than we were last season at this stage.

"We have boys struggling. David Watson took a knock. We're a bit stretched but the players gave absolutely everything. It was important to win in front of our support before Christmas.

"I thought we were harshly dealt with the goalkeeper. Kyle Vassell is impeded and his left foot is driving into the box. It's a goal-scoring opportunity, the ball is 22 yards outside his box and the keeper isn't there.

"I find it strange that wasn't more than a yellow. I'd just like to get my moan in there. That could've made the game easier but St Johnstone pushed us hard."

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In terms of placings, this is how the Premiership will look at Christmas.

Celtic top, Livi bottom, Hearts third.

Rangers can close the gap at the top with a win at Motherwell tomorrow, while the Fir Park side could jump up to eighth with a rare victory.

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You'll be able to catch the best of the action on Sportscene later.

The BBC Scotland channel is where you need to be at 19:15 GMT.

For Lawrence Shankland's second goal alone, it's well worth your time.

Inverness Caley Thistle were really good to watch this afternoon and more than deserved their point in a display that included plenty of one-touch, flowing attacking moves - most of them involved the impressive David Wotherspoon at some stage.

Partick Thistle might rue not making up more ground on Dundee United, who they play on Friday night.

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And just a wee while ago, Dundee released a pretty scathing statement.

Here it is in full:

"Dundee are extremely disappointed and frustrated at the decision to call off this afternoon’s match. The club had monitored the condition of the pitch and were not concerned the match would be postponed.

"When half of the refereeing team arrived, later than would normally be expected, they indicated they would carry out a full pitch inspection. Following the inspection the referee decided the game was not going to take place and called the match off.

"The club are extremely unhappy with what followed next and the actions of the referee. There was no consultation with Police Scotland, club officials, either manager, the SPFL delegate, the match commander, the safety team or the grounds team. The decision was announced publicly without giving club officials and Police Scotland the opportunity to manage supporter safety considerations.

Additionally, the SPFL has given clear guidelines that referees should take all steps to get matches on, which include delaying kick-off, as was seen with the match this afternoon at Cove.

The club fully believe the pitch was playable and this was then illustrated with the players training on the pitch at 15:00.

The club will be seeking clarity from the SPFL and the SFA regarding protocols and match postponements and in the meantime can only apologise to the supporters of both clubs who have been let down by the very late and unnecessary call-off.

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Dundee general manager Greg Fenton told BBC Scotland: "Bitterly disappointed. If there were concerns for player safety, obviously Dundee wouldn't have players training on it.

"The referee arrived at 13:40, made his decision 15 to 20 minutes after that, consulted with the police, and then spoke to the coaching team.

"You see other games around the country get an extra 15 to 20 minutes to work on a specific area of the park. That opportunity wasn't given to us.

"The rain is now going off. The club itself will be dealing with it internally and there will be a statement forthcoming."

While we wait for quotes from the managers from today's 15:00 games, we need to look at more reaction from Dens Park.

The postponement for Dundee's game with Aberdeen is causing quite a stir...

Goals change games.

Second half they got off to the perfect start, that'll please Brendan Rodgers and it relaxed the crowd.

The Dundee game on Boxing Day is huge for Celtic now, then it's on to the derby.

There were also three games in the second tier. Three draws.

No goals between Airdrie and Morton, while both goals were scored in the first half at Firhill between Partick Thistle and Caley Thistle.

And at Gayfield, Dunfermline notched an injury-time equaliser away to Arbroath.

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Three games. Three home wins.

An early Christmas present for the fans of Celtic, Hearts and Kilmarnock.

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Kyogo Furuhashi and Liam Scales got the goals early in the second half as Celtic recover from successive Premiership losses to see off stubborn Livingston.

One-way traffic from start to finish. The leaders go five clear at the top, but they've played two games more than Rangers.

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The Lawrence Shankland show. The Hearts captain nets goals number 14 and 15 in maroon this season.

The 15th was an absolute beauty. Watch that on Sportscene later.

St Mirren huffed and puffed at 2-0 but their woes in front of goal continue.

Hearts move two points clear in third, while St Mirren drop to fifth behind Kilmarnock after a fifth straight defeat on the road.

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